Gordon wants stiffer penalties for cellphone thieves
SEN. Richard Gordon is proposing a jail term of 12 to 20
years for cellular phone snatchers.
In his Senate Bill 288, Gordon said cellular phones have
become indispensable tools of communication and the increase in the incidents of cellphone theft necessitates a stiffer penalty to discourage
snatchers.
Records from the Philippine National Police showed about a thousand persons victimized by snatchers last
year. The record does not include incidents that were not reported to the
police. Some of the incidents were also fatal to the victims who resisted the snatchers and were either knifed or shot.
Last month alone, 76 cellphone-snatching incidents were
reported nationwide, 43 of which took place in the National Capital Region.
"There is an urgent need to protect our people from cellphone snatchers as well as thieves of other related
gadgets such as personal digital assistants and laptop or notebook computers which are devices for information and communication," Gordon said.
The Gordon measure proposes a 12-year stay in jail for the perpetrator if the
offense was committed without force or violence, and 20 years if force, violence
or intimidation was employed. If the victim is seriously injured or killed,
Gordon proposes life imprisonment or a maximum of 40 years’ jail time for the
perpetrator. – JP Lopez
http://www.malaya.com.ph/jul04/metro4.htm
